As commonly known, apparatuses including a function (hereafter referred to as communication function) enabling communication through connection to a network such as the Internet are widely used as mobile terminal apparatuses such as a mobile phone.
Such mobile terminal apparatuses including a communication function can download copyright-protected content such as video and music from a content provider and reproduce the downloaded content.
Normally, the reproduction of a copyright-protected content requires a right corresponding to the content. The right specifies a validity period for reproducing the content, and the content can be reproduced only within this validity period.
FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing a service concerning the downloading and reproduction of a copyright-protected content.
A content distributing company 1 holds a content 211 to be provided and a right 212 corresponding to the content 211. The content distributing company 1 distributes the content 211 and the right 212 from a base station 3 to a mobile terminal apparatus 4. The content 211 and the right 212 are distributed via a mobile communication network 2.
The mobile terminal apparatus 4 reproduces the content only within the validity period specified by the right 212 within the mobile terminal apparatus 4.
In the above service, there are cases where there is one right 212 corresponding to one content 211, and there are cases where there are plural rights. For example, there is the case where a right purchased by a user, a right received by the user as a donation from someone else, and a charge-free right for previewing and the like, are present as plural rights corresponding to one content 211.
Patent Reference 1 discloses a technique which allows a user the most efficient reproduction of the content 211 in reproducing the copyright-protected content 211 when plural rights 212 corresponding to one content 211 are present within the mobile terminal apparatus 4.
The technique disclosed in Patent Reference 1 determines, according to a predetermined priority level, a right 212 to be used in reproducing the content 211 when plural rights 212 are present within the mobile terminal apparatus 4.
With this, for example, when the validity period and the number of reproductions are specified in each of the plural rights 212, the user is able to reproduce the content 211 for the longest period and for the most number of times. Furthermore, when the validity period and the reproduction time are specified in each of the plural rights 212, the user is able to reproduce the content 211 for the longest period. In addition, when the reproduction period and the number of reproductions are specified in each of the plural rights 212, the user is able to reproduce the content 211 for the longest period and for the most number of times.
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-348384